Blog
Growth or Profitability?
Growth is uncomfortable, but it’s necessary. Kim was recently quoted in an Inc. Magazine article about how many small business owners struggle to choose between growth and profitability....
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How to Measure Websites in 2026
A few weeks ago, I got a question from a client that I haven’t heard in a while: “Can you measure a website?” It made me realize just...
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Meeting Journalists Where They Are
There’s a version of media relations that lives in the past. A world where you pitch a reporter, they file a story, and it runs in the paper...
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AI & You: Are You Losing Your Voice?
“We have a policy, approved tools, and rules on how to use it. We are communicators; authenticity and trust govern everything we do, and if you over-rely on...
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The Hard Cost of Soft Skills
Soft is a terrible word, right up there with moist, and when you couple it with skills, it becomes even more gag-worthy. If the title to this article...
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David & Goliath: Your “Disadvantages” Are Your Advantages
The David and Goliath story we were all told in Sunday School…yeah, it wasn’t true. See, David knew exactly what he was doing and he knew how easy...
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I want you to own your weird.
People Do Business with People — Not Logos The leaders and brands standing out are not the most polished or predictable; what they are is authentic (and memorable)....
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Building a Business Around Belonging
When Christy Howden first set foot on a pickleball court back in 2017, she was told she was too young to play. Christy had to buy a “senior-in-training”...
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You Broke It. Give Us Time to Fix It.
I’ve been running 8THIRTYFOUR for 19 years, and in the last few years, more companies have come to us needing fractional CMO support than ever before. They need...
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The Gen X Survival Guide to Soft Skills
We raised ourselves, now we’re raising the workforce. My dad worked third shift at GM for 30 years and played softball four nights a week. My mom was...
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There Is No Magic Formula (And That’s Actually Good News)
I came across a refreshingly honest post this week from Benjamin Houy, which was shared by my buddy Jason Dodge of BlackTruck Media, fellow business owner and SBAM...
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The Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Not So Innocent
8THIRTYFOUR is hosting the Community Capital Conversation on November 19th, because enough is enough. Bring your stories. This isn’t the story about the quarter of a million embezzlement...
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Strong Has Never Been a Men-Only Standard
For as long as the military has existed, women have been there. Often unseen, often unacknowledged, but always showing up. They’ve patched wounds, gathered intelligence, led missions, and...
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It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Run a Business
I’ve owned my business long enough to know that nothing about running one is easy — that’s fine. What’s not fine is how much harder it’s become thanks...
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Make Good Trouble: Why We Still Need to Call Out Workplace Bias
A few years back, an email crossed my screen referring to another female professional as “sweet and young”—and it wasn’t meant as a compliment. It stuck with me...
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The Hard Costs of Soft Skills: The Manufacturing Edition
Soft skills gaps are driving very hard costs for manufacturers. And the numbers are staggering. 60% of businesses have terminated Gen Z employees.75% find them unsatisfactory— but in...
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